The Expat Success Story: Chinese American Careers in the US
For the second seminar in this series, International House will host “The Expat Success Story: Chinese American Careers in the US.” This event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 9, 2022 from 7:00pm – 8:30pm, and will be live-streamed and in-person at International House with a reception to follow. This seminar will bring together Chinese-born expats from the arts, business, and entertainment in panel format, moderated by International House Trustee Bei Ling, who is Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Human Resources at Wells Fargo. The objective is both to inspire and educate our I-House residents, alumni, and friends by showcasing success stories of Chinese nationals in the United States as examples of how to navigate career paths. Panelists will share challenges and opportunities from the perspective of Asian-Americans, address the uptick of anti-Asian violence and possible solutions, and share tips and suggestions for the audience through their personal stories. Following the panel discussion, a reception will offer a networking opportunity to support residents’ career paths. The panel discussion will take place at I-House in Davis Hall and will be live-streamed to reach a global audience. Attendees will include current residents, board members, alumni, and friends of I-House.
SPEAKERS
Winston Ma, CFA & Esq., is an investor, attorney, author, and adjunct professor in the global digital economy. He is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of CloudTree Ventures, a seed to early growth stage venture capital firm empowering interactive entertainment companies. He is currently the board Chairman of Nasdaq-listed MCAA, a European tech SPAC. Most recently for 10 years, he was Managing Director and Head of North America Office for China Investment Corporation (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund. Prior to that, Mr. Ma served as the Deputy Head of Equity Capital Markets at Barclays Capital, a Vice President at J.P. Morgan investment banking, and a corporate lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP.
He is one of a small number of native Chinese who have worked as investment professionals and practicing capital markets attorneys in both the United States and China. A nationally certified Software Programmer as early as 1994, Mr. Ma is the author of several books, including The Digital War: How China’s Tech Power Shapes the Future of AI, Blockchain and Cyberspace (2021) and The Hunt for Unicorns: How Sovereign Funds are Reshaping Investment in the Digital Economy (2020). He was selected a 2013 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum (WEF), and in 2014 he received the NYU Distinguished Alumni Award, profiling his incredible journey in the law school’s Alumni Magazine.
Du Yun was born and raised in Shanghai, China and is currently based in New York City. She is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, performance artist, activist, and curator for new music, who works at the intersection of opera, orchestral, chamber music, theater, cabaret, oral tradition, public performances, sound installation, electronics, visual arts, and noise. Her body of work is championed by some of today’s finest performing groups and organizations around the world.
She is known for her “relentless originality and unflinching social conscience” (The New Yorker). Du Yun’s second opera, Angel’s Bone, won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize; in 2018 she was named a Guggenheim Fellow; and in 2019, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Classical Composition category. Her latest collaborative opera Sweet Land with Raven Chacon (for opera company The Industry) was the 2021 Best New Opera by the North America Critics Association. As an avid performer and bandleader, her onstage persona has been described as “an indie pop diva with an avant-garde edge.”
A community champion, Du Yun was a founding member of the International Contemporary Ensemble; served as the Artistic Director of MATA Festival (2014-2018); conceived the Pan Asia Sounding Festival; and founded FutureTradition, a global initiative that illuminates the provenance lineages of folk art and uses these structures to build cross-regional collaborations from the ground up. In 2018, Du Yun was named one of “38 Great Immigrants” by the Carnegie Foundation, and in 2019 the Beijing Music Festival named her “Artist of the Year.” In 2022, she was granted a Creative Capital Award for an AR inter-generational Kun-opera project. Four of her feature studio albums were named The New Yorker’s Notable Recordings of the Year, in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. Asia Society Hong Kong has honored her for her continued contribution in the performing arts field.
Yizhuo Chen was born in Ningxia and raised in both Ningxia and Beijing, China. He is currently a resident at International House in New York, completing a MS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Columbia University while also employed full time at Regeneron Pharmaceutical, focusing on the next generation of mRNA therapeutics. His initial interest in biomedical research led him to an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2019. During his undergraduate years, Mr. Chen explored the intersection of engineering, biology and medicine through research opportunities at the university. This led to a specific interest in developing a “smart” bandage to accelerate wound healing using technology to create and program a coin-sized control chip that actuates a 3D printed micro-impedance pump to control the stretching of a soft material microfluidic device attached to a “band aid.” Mr. Chen assembled a team of students to pitch this concept in the UMass Innovation Challenge 2019, which they won in April 2019, securing startup funding. After working on this startup for a year and a half, the company eventually stalled, which allowed Mr. Chen to consider alternate employment options, first at Silicon Therapeutics in Boston, MA, focusing on protein science & engineering; then at Moderna, Norwood, MA focusing on COVID vaccine manufacturing; then Pfizer in New York for mRNA vaccine R&D. In addition to loving his life here at International House, Mr. Chen continues to be interested in entrepreneurship and looks forward to his next startup innovation.MODERATOR
As senior executive vice president and head of Human Resources at Wells Fargo, Bei Ling is responsible for all aspects of the company’s human capital strategy. She works closely with the company’s CEO and operating committee to build a world-class culture and foster an inclusive environment to attract, develop, engage, and retain the best talent. Ms. Ling also serves on the Wells Fargo operating committee. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Ms. Ling was with JPMorgan Chase where she served as managing director and global head of Talent Development and Total Rewards. In this capacity, Ms. Ling was accountable for driving strategy and implementation across multiple global functions, including leadership development and succession planning, learning, career development, compensation, benefits, and workforce data and analytics. At the same time, Ms. Ling also served as head of Human Resources for the Commercial Bank, leading end-to-end human capital strategy and programs for the business. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, Ling served as deputy head of Human Resources at PNC Financial Services. At PNC, she led a number of large-scale HR initiatives, including the merger of PNC and National City and a redesign of the bank’s talent programs. Ms. Ling also co-chaired PNC’s Management Committee. Ms. Ling also previously worked at Merrill Lynch in both Human Resources and Global Finance.
Bei Ling is a graduate of Beijing University in China and earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. She is currently a Board member of the Financial Health Network and International House.
Please direct any questions to the Office of Programs & Resident Life.